JUDGES ASKED TO ORDER THE RETURN OF O.C. MEN'S POT

The Medical Marijuana Users Ask the State Appellate Court to Order
the Return of the Drug That Doctors Recommend They Use for Pain.

Two Orange County men have taken the cops to court to get their pot back.

Jim Spray, 51, and Felix Cha, 22, who have doctors' recommendations
to use marijuana for medical reasons, said that since charges against
them were dropped, their property should be returned.

The two men argued their cases Thursday before the state's 4th
District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, which has 90 days to issue a decision.

Their separate cases are the latest in a series across the state that
reflect the confusion and tension between patients and police
surrounding California's 11-year-old Compassionate Use Act, which is
designed to allow marijuana use for medical purposes.

Two years ago, a lawsuit by Americans for Safe Access, an
Oakland-based group that monitors medical marijuana issues across the
state, led the California Highway Patrol to order its officers to
stop confiscating medical marijuana during routine traffic stops. The
CHP allows patients to travel with as much as 8 ounces of pot
provided they have a certified user identification card or documented
physician's approval.

Americans for Safe Access is representing the two Orange County men.
Spray said he needs the marijuana for chronic back pain. Cha said he
also needs it for pain.

Cha, of Garden Grove, was arrested in June 2005 after police searched
his car during a traffic stop and seized 8 ounces of marijuana. Cha
showed police proper paperwork at the time.

The case against him was dropped after prosecutors called the
physician who recommended the use of marijuana. The judge ordered
Garden Grove police to return the drug to Cha, but the city appealed
to the 4th District.

On Thursday, Magdalena Lona-Wiant, an attorney representing Garden
Grove, argued that the judge made a mistake by ordering the return of
the marijuana without determining whether Cha qualified as a medical
marijuana patient. She also said that while the Compassionate Use Act
established a defense for patients, it did not establish a property
right to the drug. She maintained that possessing marijuana violated
federal law.

Joe Elford, an attorney for Americans for Safe Access, argued that
Cha's case was simply one dealing with the return of property that he
lawfully possessed. In this instance, he said, the evidence showed
Cha had a valid physician's recommendation.

Spray, of Huntington Beach, was arrested in November 2005 after
police confiscated 5 ounces of marijuana and paraphernalia from his home.

He presented a physician's recommendation during a pretrial hearing
and asked a judge to order police to return the drug. The request was
denied, which led to his appeal to the 4th District.

While that appeal was pending, prosecutors dropped the drug-related charges.

Elford argued that the judge got it wrong and should have, as in
Cha's case, ordered police to return Spray's property.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephan Sauer argued that the judge ruled
correctly because at the time the decision was made, prosecutors had
not dismissed the case.

Sauer argued that the case should be sent back to the trial judge to
decide the property issue.